Offshore oil workers vote to ballot for action over job losses

by Raymie Kiernan

Published Tue 31 Mar 2015

Issue No. 2447

Unite union members covered by the Offshore Contractors Agreement have voted by 93.5 percent to hold a ballot for industrial action. The GMB union said its members also voted overwhelmingly for a ballot.

The consultative ballot results came the day after oil giants Shell and Taqa announced they would be axing 350 North Sea jobs.

The RMT union urged its offshore members to opt back in to the Working Time Regulations’ 48-hour limit on the working week.

It said this could minimise job losses. Its executive has also endorsed a call from members to ballot for industrial action.

Strikes could still be some way off but the mood for action is stirring.

There is deep anger among workers that an estimated 10,000 jobs have been lost since the oil price slumped and bosses imposed changes to shift patterns.

The Tories recently handed bosses a £1.3 billion tax break. They are making billions in profits but workers are being made to pay for falling prices.